• Kuwait rejects any move ‘to impose non-Palestinian sovereignty over the occupied West Bank'
  
  ISTANBUL 

Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) on Monday condemned an Israeli decision to register large areas of the occupied West Bank as “state property,” in a move seen as a “de facto annexation” of the occupied territory.

In a statement, the Saudi Foreign Ministry said the Israeli move aims at imposing a “new legal and administrative reality” in the occupied West Bank, warning that such measures would “undermine ongoing efforts to achieve peace and stability in the region.”

"There is no Israeli sovereignty over the occupied Palestinian territories," the ministry said, calling the measure a "serious violation of international law," undermining the two-state solution.

The Kuwaiti Foreign Ministry denounced the Israeli decision as a “null and void decision,” urging the international community to “deter those Israeli violations.”

“It is absolutely unacceptable to impose non-Palestinian sovereignty over the occupied West Bank,” the ministry said in a statement.

“Any decision to annex land in the occupied West Bank would be considered null and void and illegitimate, and would undermine international efforts aimed at achieving a just and comprehensive peace in line with Security Council resolutions and the two-state solution,” the ministry stressed.

Kuwait reiterated its “principled and steadfast position” in supporting the Palestinian people’s right to establish an independent state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.

It also called on the international community to assume its “legal, moral and humanitarian responsibilities” to curb the Israeli “violations” and to safeguard Palestinian rights while promoting security and stability in the region.

GCC Secretary-General Jasem Albudaiwi said the Israeli decision represents “a flagrant and serious violation of international law and international legitimacy resolutions and an extension of illegal settlement policies, which necessitates a firm international stance."

“These aggressive practices represent a blatant violation of the rights of the Palestinian people, and a systematic attempt to seize their lands," he added in a statement.

The GCC chief called on the international community to take “practical and immediate steps to halt these serious violations and to compel Israeli occupation authorities to stop settlement policies and unilateral decisions that threaten regional security and stability.”

He reiterated the Gulf bloc’s support for the Palestinian people’s “legitimate rights,” foremost the establishment of an independent state on the June 4, 1967 lines with East Jerusalem as its capital.

The GCC consists of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Oman.

On Sunday, Qatar decried the Israeli decision as part of Israel’s “illegal” plans to strip the Palestinian people of their rights.

The Israeli government on Sunday approved a proposal allowing the seizure of Palestinian land in the West Bank by registering it as “state property,” marking the first such step since Israel’s occupation of the territory in 1967.

According to Channel 7, the measure includes opening land registration procedures that were previously frozen, canceling a Jordanian-era law banning the sale of land, and disclosing land records that had remained confidential for decades.

Palestinians view the measures as a prelude to the formal annexation of the West Bank and as a step toward the de facto annexation of large parts of the territory, moves they say would undermine the two-state solution framework endorsed by the UN.

In a landmark opinion in July 2024, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory illegal and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

*Writing by Lina Altawell